Greek troubles prompt Macedonia NATO push

Greece’s growing political and economic problems have its small neighbor Macedonia sensing an opportunity to push hard for joining NATO, a move that has been stalled for years thanks to Athens’ opposition because of disputes over Macedonia’s name.

Defense Minister Zoran Jolevski told POLITICO his country would be prepared to apply to join NATO using the ungainly name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,” which is insisted on by Greece.

This term is perceived as an affront by Macedonians, who resent being identified with the defunct Yugoslavia rather than the home country of Alexander the Great, a historical legacy also claimed by Greece.

Following Yugoslavia’s breakup in the early 1990s, Greece successfully lobbied for Macedonia to be known as FYROM in international settings, including at the United Nations. In the UN Interim Accord of 1995, Greece promised not to block Macedonia’s membership in international bodies if it applied under the temporary name of FYROM.

But 13 years later, when Macedonia tried to join NATO, along with Croatia and Albania, Greece vetoed its accession. Greece denies blocking Macedonia, calling NATO’s decision a collective one.

“All NATO member countries recognized that Macedonia had by that point met the NATO membership criteria,” said Jolevski. “Unfortunately our southern neighbor added one more criterion to that summit, the name.”

Greece argued that its northern neighbor should instead be called New Macedonia or Upper Macedonia, whereupon Macedonia sued Greece at the International Court of Justice and won in 2011. But its moment had passed.

The alliance’s formal position is that the country “has to find a mutually acceptable solution with Greece to the issue over its name before it can be invited to join NATO.”

Athens’ argument is that historical Macedonia was a part of the Classical Greek world, while today’s Macedonia, populated by ethnic Slavs, has no link to the past except for the name. It also worries that Macedonia is making claims on the Greek region of the same name, something Macedonia denies.

Macedonia, for its part, has gone out of its way to promote the connection to Alexander the Great, even building an enormous statue of the ancient warrior in the center of Skopje, to Greece’s fury.

But with Greece in meltdown, Skopje sees a chance to break the stalemate by announcing that it’s willing to join NATO as FYROM, while pointing out that Macedonian forces have served alongside NATO forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“We have to recognize the wider strategic picture,” said Liam Fox, a former British defense secretary who participated in a June gathering organized Jolevski to promote Macedonia’s accession. “NATO has weaknesses in the far north, in the Balkans and in the Caucasus. In the far north [Sweden and Finland] there’s not much we can do, and Georgia and Azerbaijan are not ready to join. But Macedonia and Montenegro are ready.”

A recent opinion poll shows 68 percent of Macedonians support NATO membership even though they know it may involve the FYROM label.

Recent incidents have, however, cast doubt on Macedonia’s suitability for membership of the Western military alliance.

In addition to a political crisis set off by a wiretapping scandal, there have been armed clashes. In April, 40 members of the now-disbanded Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) took a Macedonian policeman hostage, and in May, Macedonian police fought off an attack by apparent KLA members that left eight police officers dead.

The KLA represents ethnic Albanians who fought a guerrilla war against Serbia in the ’90s; Albanians make up around a quarter of Macedonia’s population. Skopje argues that the incidents actually show Macedonia’s ability to keep terrorists at bay.

Macedonia and those who support its accession are hoping U.S. President Barack Obama will want to show NATO’s relevance by expanding the alliance to include Montenegro and Macedonia. That means the two would have to accede at or before NATO’s next summit, scheduled to take place in Warsaw next summer.

“Obama is the first [post-Cold War] U.S. president not to have NATO enlargement under his belt,” said Sally Painter, a former Clinton administration official involved in 10 of the 12 latest NATO accessions and now assisting the Macedonian government. “It’s not that hard to push for Macedonian membership, and Greece is not that important anymore.”

Michael Diamessis, Greece’s NATO ambassador, said: “Greece does not set any ‘conditions’ for the accession of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to NATO,” pointing out that “NATO nations believe that countries seeking NATO membership would have to be able to demonstrate that they have fulfilled certain requirements. These common principles and values include good neighborly relations.”

Diamessis did not respond to a request for comment on whether Greece would accept a FYROM accession.

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Vwp

From the land of bad accounting, I am to receive a correct history lesson., ido not think so. The Greeks control southern Macedonia for over 100 years,the Slavs ,for over 1400 years. So who has a better claim?

Posted on 7/8/15 | 2:05 AM CET

Andrew Burgess

T”hese common principles and values include good neighborly relations.”

Let’s ask Turkey how well the Greeks fulfill this criterion.

Posted on 7/9/15 | 8:26 PM CET

Φίλια Πυρά

I wholly agree with the “hated acronym” part.
The appropriate name for this fabricated state, should be “West Bulgaria”.
They speak a Bulgarian dialect, use Cyrillic alphabet and share the same heritage including national heroes [Tsar Samuil] as their eastern neighbours.
Slavs in every aspect – with the exception of the Albanian minority of course.
Their very own president, Kiro Gligorov, admitted so – before his assassination attempt that is [food for thought]

No geographical designation will ever solve the name issue.
“North”, “Upper” or “New” Macedonia implies that a NATION is divided which is not the case here.
In fact, it defies every logic.
There once was West and East Germany. Guess what, they were both Germans.
North Korea is hostile towards South Korea (and almost every other country on the planet for that matter) but they share the same ancestry and something tells me their language is not too far part – if different at all.
Same as Bulgarian is compared to -it’s hard to say this word and keep a straight face- “SlavoMacedonian”
So you see “Vwp”, you do need to take a few history lessons after all.
Some linguistics wouldn’t hurt either…

The “who has a better claim” argument is equally laughable.
I’ll pretend I’ve never read the “Slavs controlled Macedonia for 1400 (!!!) years” part (again, History 101) and pose a question that has either never crossed your mind or you conveniently ignore:
Let’s assume that ISIS conquers certain parts of Europe and establishes a Caliphate, say in Italy. Every single person is forced to convert to Islam and adopt the Muslim way of life.
How would you call a female Vatican resident whose name is Aisha, speaks Arabic, wears a burqa and follows the Sariah law?
Latin? Roman? (geographically speaking, it would still be Rome) Italian?
Yes, that’s what I thought…

Posted on 7/12/15 | 6:10 PM CET

Greek

Dear vip,

You seem to come from the land of bad memory. Greeks have been living in unbroken chain in Macedonia for three thousand years. The middle age and ancient Macedonian artifacts, virtually all written in Greek, attest to this. Furthermore prior to Greeks liberating Macedonia it officially belonged to the Ottomans not the former Yugoslavians.

You might also want to mention the former Yugoslavians are NOT Macedonians. They are mostly ethnic Bulgarians that hide their heritage. You also seem have “forgotten” the the former Yugoslavians only claimed a few years ago not to be related to Alexander. Now they, suddenly claim to be founders of the Hellenistic period… that hate anything Greek?

Those that evade over Skopje’s irredentism and bizarre attempt to usurp identity of Greeks are effectively morally complicit in subtle attempt to ethnic cleanse Greeks.

Posted on 8/21/15 | 12:31 AM CET

Greek

Would really appreciate if those that now try to unethically hide their mistake of calling the former Yugoslavians “macedonian” at least show a little integrity by mentioning “minor” details like the fact the US government itself used to claim there the former Yugoslavians are not “Macedonians”.
Some American nationalists (not all) are effectively engaged in unproked agression against Greeks by trying to ethnic engineer “Macedonians”… much like the Soviet Union once tried. (effectively amounting to subtle attempt to ethnically exterminate Greeks)

“The Department has noted with considerable apprehension increasing propaganda rumors and semi-official statements in favor of an autonomous Macedonia, emanating principally from Bulgaria, but also from Yugoslav Partisan and other sources, with the implication that Greek territory would be included in the projected state. This (US) Government considers talk of Macedonian “nation”, Macedonian “Fatherland”, or Macedonia “national consciousness” to be unjustified demagoguery representing no ethnic nor political reality, and sees in its present revival a possible cloak for aggressive intentions against Greece.”

US State Department, Edward Stettinius Dec 1944

Posted on 8/21/15 | 12:39 AM CET

Tanase Sotir

Ancient macedonians spoke a PROTO-LATIN language,NOT a SLAVIC language,for thousands of year before Alexander the Macedonian.
It is believe that ALL Latin languages derived from the Ancient Macedonian Language.
Indeed the Ancient Macedonians used the Greek Alphabet to write,but if one translate the text,he will obtain a Macedonian Language Translated in Greek. This is because the Greek language was the second language of the Ancient Macedonians as Spanish is the Second Language to the Americans.
It is interesting to read the Persian History,and see that the Ancient Persians as well as Modern Persians,use the Arabic Alphabet to write in Farsi,and also the Latin Alphabet.
The Slavs have invaded that area around 1000 AD,yet the Ancient Macedonians existed thousands of years before that.

Posted on 10/13/15 | 11:42 PM CET

Tanase Sotir

The real Ancient Macedonia,which extends from Salonic (Thessaloniki) up to the border with former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,should be left alone to decide its future and,it should NOT be occupied by any country.
Lets not forget the fact that Ancient Macedonia,was established by Caranus (Karanus),around 800 BCE,and it name was then MACEDON (MAKEDON),and that most of the time,Greece was under the Macedonian Empire.